Drying machine



G. WEBB DRYING MACHINE May 23, 1933.

Filed Jan. 50, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet l G. WEBB DRYING MACHINE May 23, 1933.

Filed Jan. 50 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fiwenl'ar 50/375 Webb I 2 7 V flttarng G. WEBB DRYING MACHINE May 23, 1933.

Filed Jan. 50 1950 V ENE Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE WEBB, OF WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB TO COLTS PATENT FIRE ARMS MANUFACTURING CO., OF HARTFORD, CONNmTICUT. A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT name uac'nnvn Application illekg'anuary 80, 1980. Serial No. 424,894.

The invention relates particularly to a ma- .chine adapted for drying machine parts and other articles immediately after they have been subjected to the action of an automatic washing machine, but it will be understood that a machine embodying the invention is not necessarily limited in this respect.

A machine constructed in accordance with the invention has a conveyor which serves to move the articles to be dried through a casing and one of the objects of the invention is to provide improved means for a machine of this type whereby jets or streams of heated air can be projected directly against the moving articles to effectively dry them. The air may be projected in one direction only, but preferably it is projected in opposite directions so as to more effectively-contact with all surfaces of the articles.

A further object of the invention is, to provide an adjustment for the air rojecting devices so that the dryer maybe a apted for drying articles of various sizes.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved general arrangement of parts whereby simphcity and compactness are attained.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved casin construction for a dryer of this class, where y simplicity and economy of manufacture are attained.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the embodiment of the invention which I now deem preferable, but it will be understood that the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purose. P Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a drying machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine on a reduced scale.

Fig. 3 is a side view on the same scale as Fig. 2. e

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the same scale as Figs. 2 and 3, and taken along the line 4- of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, this view being upon approximately the same scale as Fig.1.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing in detail the baflie and guide plates associated with one of the sets of heating pipes.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary erspective view showing onan enlarged sca e one of'the air ducts.

' Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing some of the details of construction of the casing and framework, this view being partly in section along the line 88 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents as an entirety the main casing of the machine, this casing being generally rectangular in transverse section and having entrance and exit openings 2 and 3 in its opposite end walls. The details of the casing construction may be varied but the s ecific construction shown has important a vantages and will be described in detail.

For convenience of manufacture and shipment, the casing may be formed in two sections as shown, but this is not essential. Each side wall of each section, as shown, comprises a plurality of separate vertical rectangular panels 4, 4 which are supported by means of upright members 5, 5 and 6, 6 forming parts of the main structural steel framework. The upright members 5, 5 and 6, 6 at each side of the machine are connected to and supported 'by a longitudinal channel beam 7 and the said upright members are also connected with additional longitudinal structural steel members 8 and 9.

Each of the panels 4, 4 preferably comprises a sheet'metal shell 10 rectangular in horizontal section as clearly shown in Fig. 8, and this shell encloses 'a body or core 11 of suitable heat insulating fibrous material such as asbestos fibre or balsam wool. The

anels may be constructed entirely separately from the framework of the casing and when the framework is completed they may belowered vertically into place being guided by the corresponding upright members 5, 5 and 6, 6. If it is necessary for any reason to subsequently remove one of the panels this can be done without in any way disturbing the framework.

The ends of the casing above and below the openings 2 and 3 may be closed by panels 12, 12 and 13, 13 similar to the panels 4, 4 already described, and the top of the casing may also consist of panels 14, 14 similar to the side panels 4, 4 but having flanges at their edges adapted to rest upon the tops of the said panels 4, 4. Preferably the uprights 6, 6 are beveled at their tops as shown in Fi 5. Transverse T-members 15, 15 beveled at t eir ends rest upon the uprights 6, 6 and serve to close the joints between adjacent panels 14, 14 as shown in Fig. 2.

Extending across the casing at approximately the level of the bottom of the two longitudinal members 8, 8 are transverse members 16, 16. These transverse members serve to reinforce the upright members and also serve to hold the vertical side panels 4, 4 in place by reason of their engagement with the inner surfaces thereof. The transverse members 16, 16 further serve to support rails 17, 17 along which the upper run of the conveyor travels as will presently be described.

Other transverse members 18 extend across the machine near the bottom and these carry longitudinal rails 19, 19 for carrying the lower run of the conveyor. Preferably a horizontal plate 20 is positioned immediate ly above the rails 19, 19, this plate serving as the bottom wall of the casing.

For moving the articles to be dried longitudinally through the casing from the entrance opening 2 to the exit opening 3 I provide a suitable conveyor, preferably a con veyor having an endless openwork belt 21 so constructed that the articles may be placed directly upon it. The details of the conveyor belt 21 constitute no part of the present invention and need not be described. It is sufficient to point out that the belt is provided at its sides with supporting rollers 22, 22.

The upper or active run of the belt 21 travels along the rails 17, 17 and the lower or inactive run of the belt travels along the rails 19, 19. The rollers 22, 22 engage the said rails to support the belt. At the ends of the machinethe conveyor belt passes over drums 23 and 24 carried by the longitudinal frame members 8, 8 and over drums 25 and 26 carried by the lower frame members 7, 7. The drum 26 is shown as being mounted for adjustment longitudinally of the machine, this being for the purpose of adjusting the tension in the belt. For operating the belt there is provided a motor 27 which is connected by means of a speed reducing gear box 28 and a chain 28 with the drum 24. The motor serves to move the upper run of the belt from left to right as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. Articles to be dried are placed either manually or automatically upon the receiving end of the belt, which is at the left as viewed in Fig. 1, and they are then carried through the machine from left to right. At the right hand end of the machine they are either removed from the belt manually or are allowed to be discharged by the belt into a suitable receptacle. If desired flexible curtains 29, 29 may be provided at the openings 2 and 3 to partially close them. Inasmuch as the curtains are flexible they do not interfere with the passage through the machine of articles that may be placed upon the conveyor.

Positioned within the casing is at least one continuous longitudinal duct which is located immediately adjacent the path of the articles being moved by the conveyor; The duct is preferably in superposed relation with the path of movement, that is, either above or below it, and it is in fact preferable to provide two ducts, one above and one below. Two such ducts are shown in the drawing, being represented at 30 and 31 respectively. These ducts are similar in construction and a description of one will suffice for both.

The ducts 30 and 31 are adapted for receiving heated air and for delivering or projecting it directly against articles moved by the conveyor. When a relatively wide openwork conveyor belt is provided, as is here shown, each duct is preferably of approximately the same width as the belt. Each duct is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes 32, 32 through which the heated air can pass from the duct directly into engagement with the articles being moved by the conveyor. \Vhen the ducts are relatively wide the said holes are preferably transverse slots extending entirely across them; and each of the said slots may advantageously be formed between two transversely extending lips which are inclined downward or upward as the case may be beyond the plane of the corres nding wall of the duct. Each duct is pre erably rectangular in cross section and is of uniform width, but as concerns its height, it may taper as shown. The heated air enters at the larger end and the opposite smaller end is entirely closed. By reason of the taper, the cross sectional area of each duct progressively decreases in the direction of travel of the air, and the result isthat the velocity of the air remains substantially constant as does also the pressure at the several slots.

Air is delivered to the two ducts 30 and 31 by means of blowers 33 and 34 which are connected with the respective ducts by means of supply pipes 35 and 36. The supply pipes are connected at opposite ends of the respective ducts 30 and 31 so that the heated air moves through them in opposite directions. The blowers mounted directly on the top of the. casing by means of transverse channel members 37, 37 and each blower may be driven by its-own individual motor 38.

The lower air duct 31 is placed so that the slots 32, 32 are quite close to the conve or and connection with the supply pipe 36 18 made through a.suitable hole in the adjacent front vertical panel 4. The upper air duct 30 is preferably vertically adjustable so that the distance betweenits slots 32, 32 and the conveyor belt ma be changed to accommodate articles of di erent sizes. It is desirable to have the duct as close as possible to the upper surfaces of the articles and the upper duct is, therefore, made vertically adjustable in order that the machine may operate with equal efiiciency upon both large and small articles. As shown the duct 30 has an extension 30 which projects upward through an opening in the left hand panel 14 and which fits telescopically into the supply pipe 35. This permits the duct 30 to be raised or lowered. As shown most clearly in Fig. 5, the duct 30 has connected with it rods 39, 39 which project upward through holes in the top wall of the casing. Nuts 40, 40 engage the rods 39, 39, and by adjusting these nuts the rods can be raised or lowered to thereby raise or lower the duct 30.

Heated air may be supplied to the blowers 33 and 34 in any desired way and the air may come from some suitable source outside of the machine. For the sake of compactness I prefer to provide a heating means, such as electric grids or steam pipes, located in the lower part of the casing below the upper run of the conveyor and above the lower run of the conveyor. I have shown two' such heating means, in the form of two sets of pipes designated at 41 and 42, these pipes being adapted to be connected with a steam supply so as to be maintained in a heated condition. In order that the air to be heated may be properly circulated over and among the pipes I provide for each set of pipes guide and baflle plates as show in Figs. 5 and 6. It will be observed that the space at the ends of each set of pipes is closed by means of walls 43, 43 and that the space at the top of each set of pipes is partly closed by a wall 44having an opening 44" therein. A. longitudinal baflle plate 45 depends from the edge of the opening 44" and another longitudinal baflle plate 46 is positioned between the pipes at the center, being supported upon the bottom wall 20 of the casing.

In order to economize heat, air may enter the heating enclosure from the interior of the main casing but I do not so limit myself. In fact it may be desirable to provide an opening 47 in the rear wall of the casing so that air from the exterior may be drawn directly into the heating enclosure. This added air re- 33 and 34 are preferably places saturated air in the interior of the cas mg. The opening 47 may be closed, or partly closed, by-mcans of an adjustable-door 48 of any desired type. A pivoted door is shown but I do not so limit myself.

The air drawn into the heating enclosure from the interior of the casing may enter directly through the opening 44 as shown in Fig. 6, but it is preferable for some classes of work to provide supplemental ducts 49 and 50 located within the casing at opposite sides thereof and having their entrance ends immediately adjacent the path of the articles to be dried. These ducts communicate at their lower ends with the opening '44 in the wall 44. When the ducts 49 and 50 are provided they serve to draw the air from points approximately midway between the two ducts 30 and 31, thus avoiding any possible tendency for the suction into the heating chamber to interferewith the normal flow of the hot air out of the slots 32, 32 and against the work.

Pipes 51 and 52 conduct the air from the. heating pipes to the suction sides of the corresponding blowers. It will be understood that at their lower ends these pipes 51 and 52 extend through suitable holes in the corresponding vertical panels 4, 4. Each pipe 51 and 52 may be provided with a suitable damper controlled by a lever 53. It will be understood that when the blowers are in operation air will be drawn by suction through the pipes 51 and 52. The air that enters each pipe must pass between the corresponding heating pipes under the control of the bafile plates 45 and 46.

The operation of the apparatus will be apparent from the foregoing description and only a very brief rsum is needed. The articles to be dried are placed upon the receiving end of the conveyor and are carried by the conveyor continuously through the casing to the discharge end. The two blowers serve to continuously deliver heated air to the two ducts 30 and 31 which project the heated air through the several slots 32, 32 directly against the articles on the conveyor. The air from the lower duct 31 must pass through the conveyor and theconveyor is of the openwork type so that passage of the air is possible. The air is heated by passing over and among the heating pipes 41 and 42, being supplied in part or in whole from the interior of the casing. The air as delivered against the articles may have a high temperature, and thus the articles are quickly and effectively dried.

What I claim is 1. In a drying machine, the combination of a casing having entrance and exit openings at its opposite ends, a conveyor for moving the articles to be dried horizontally through the casing from one opening to the other, two continuous longitudinal air ducts within the casing respectively above and below the path of the articles being moved by the conveyor, the two ducts being tapered vertically in opposite directions and the bottom wall of the upper duct and the top wall of the lower duct each having therein a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes openingtoward the 531d path, and means for supplying heated air to the two ducts at opposite larger ends thereof in order that it may pass through the ducts 1n opposite directions and through the several holes of the respective ducts downward and upward into direct engagement with articles being moved by the conveyor.

2. In a drying machine, the combination of a casing having entrance and exit openings at its opposite ends, a conveyor for moving articles to be dried through the casing from one opening to the other, a longitudinal air duct within the casing above the path of the articles being supported upon the conveyor, the said duct having therein a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes opening toward the said path, a supply pipe at the top of the casing for supplying heated air to the duct in order that it may pass through the several holes into direct engagement with the articles being moved by the conveyor, a telescopic connection between the supply pipe and the duct permitting vertical adjustment of the latter, and means connected with the top wall of the casing for supporting the duct at different levels.

3. In a drying machine, the combination of a casing having entrance and exit openings at its opposite ends, an openwork conveyor for supporting the articles tobe dried and for moving them horizontally through the casing from one opening to the other, two continuous longitudinal air duets within the casing respectively above and below the path of the articles being moved by the conveyor, the two ducts being tapered vertically in opposite directions and the bottom wall of the upper duct and the top wall of the lower duct each having therein a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes opening toward the said path, means for vertically adjusting the upper duct to change its distance from the path of the articles supported upon the conveyor, and means for supplying heated air to the two ducts in order that it may pass through the several holes of the respective ducts downward and upward into direct engagement with articles being moved by the conveyor.

4. In a drying machine, the combination of a casing having entrance and exit openings at its opposite ends, an endless openwork conveyor for supporting the articles to be dried and for moving them horizontally through the casing from one opening to the other, a longitudinal air duct within the casing in superposed relationship with the upper run of the conveyor, the wall of the duct adjacent the conveyor having therein a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes, heating pipes in the casing between the two runs of the conveyor, an enclosure for the pipes additional to the said casing, means forming air passageways extending from points at the sides of the path of the articles to the said enclosure, and means for causing air to move from the enclosure to the said duct in order that it may pass through the several holes of the duct into direct engagement with articles supported upon the conveyor.

5. In a drying machine, the combination of a casing having entrance and exit openings at its opposite ends, an endless openwork conveyor for moving the articles to be dried horizontally through the casing from one opening to the other, two longitudinal air ducts within the casing one immediately above the upper run of the conveyor and the other immediately below the upper run and above the lower run, the bottom wall of the upper duct and the top wall of the lower duct each having therein a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes opening toward the upper run of the conveyor, heating pipes in the casing between the two runs of the conveyor, and means for causing air to contact with the heating pipes and then move to the two ducts in order that it may pass through the several holes of the respective ducts downward and upward into direct engagement with articles being moved by the conveyor.

6. In a drying machine, the combination of a casing having entrance and exit openings at its opposite ends, an endless openwork conveyor for moving the articles to be dried horizontally through the casing from one opening to the other, two longitudinal air ducts within the casing one immediately above the upper run of the conveyor and the other immediately below the upper run and above the lower run, the bottom wall of the upper duct and the top wall of the lower duct each having therein a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes opening toward the upper run of the conveyor, two separate sets of heating pipes in the casing between the two runs of the conveyor, two blowers at the top of the casing, and pipes for conducting air from the respective sets of heating pipes to the respective blowers and from the blowers to the corresponding ducts in order that it may pass through the several holes of the respective ducts downward and upward into direct engagement with articles being moved by the conveyor.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of January, 1930. GEORGE WEBB. 

